Morning Box Score

By Matt Motyka in News on Jan 15, 2009 4:50PM

Blackhawks Drop Buffalo
The Blackhawks beat up on the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 Wednesday night, but it may have been Chicago that was left with a limp. The Sabres struck first off the stick of Ales Kotalik, but Chicago quickly answered with scores from Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews. Martin Havlat and James Wisniewski would pile on two more to ensure the Chicago victory. The real blow, however, was landed when Buffalo's Drew Stafford laid a hard hit on defenseman Duncan Keith in the second period, who was visibly shaken and did not return to the ice. Keith's status is unknown, but encouraging words came from the 'Hawks locker room after the game. Chicago stays put to host the Atlantic-leading New York Rangers on Friday.

Bulls Top Toronto
The Bulls banked a much-needed road win on Wednesday, defeating the Toronto Raptors 102-98. Trailing by three at the start of the fourth quarter, Chicago's Derrick Rose caught fire. Rose, who tallied only eight points through the first three periods, scored 17 of the Bulls final 34 to lead the winning effort. The Raptors had a chance to tie the game late, but Joakim Noah rejected a Chris Bosh jumper to preserve a two-point lead with only five seconds to play. Rose dished 10 assists to accompany his 25 points, and Luol Deng notched a double-double with 16 points and 14 boards.

College Basketball
Illinois avenged last week's loss to Michigan, with an impressive 66-51 victory over the 24th-ranked Wolverines. The Illini took charge midway through the second, outscoring their opponent 18-4 over a ten-minute stretch. Michigan shot only 32 percent from the floor, while Illinois did nearly 17 percentage points better. Mike Tisdale stepped up with 25 points to lead the Illini offense. Illinois' only other loss came at the hands of the yet undefeated Clemson Tigers, and they now have two victories against top 25 teams on their resume.

AP Photo